CASTINE, Maine – Castleton held a 20-point halftime lead and 13 different players recorded at least two points as the team dispatched Maine Maritime 81-61 on Friday evening. 

The Spartans shot an impressive 50.9 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from downtown as they improved to 4-3 and 2-1 in the North Atlantic Conference. The Mariners were outrebounded 33-27 and turned the ball over 26 times as they dropped to 1-7 overall and 0-3 in conference play. 

Junior Rob Coloutti provided 17 points off the bench and hit four triples while Carnelius Green added 15 points, two assists and two steals. Chad Copeland was also in double figures with 12 points and six rebounds. Pavin Parrish had just two points but recorded team-highs of seven assists and four steals. 

Nick Holt led Maine Maritime with 20 points, three rebounds and two assists. Kyle Boucher added 11 points, five rebounds and two assists off the bench while Jason Hatch was also in double figures with 11 points. 

Back-to-back threes from Doug Krouse and Dante Hatem gave the Spartans an early 6-0 advantage but MMA came back to grab an 11-8 lead on a Hatch layup at 15:23. Castleton countered with 14 consecutive points, the final a layup by Alexander Homkey for a 22-11 advantage with 10:32 left in the half. The Mariners pulled within eight a minute later, but over the next six minutes the Spartans pushed their lead to 38-18. Both teams scored four points over the final three minutes for a 42-22 Castleton lead at the break. 

The Spartans extended their lead to 25 just 3:20 into the second half on a layup by Copeland. Castleton's lead didn't drop below 20 over the next eight minutes, until a layup by Boucher made it 64-46. MMA cut the lead as low as 17 in the final eight minutes, but a free throw from Rob Pinnock with 1:02 remaining provided the 20-point final margin. 

Freshman Tondi Mushandu finished with five points, six assists and two steals while classmate Tyler Arsenault added seven points, two rebounds and two steals. 

The Spartans return to action tomorrow at 3 pm when they travel to face defending NAC Champion Husson.